Things worked out though, and the couple married six years ago. Like many celebrity couples, Ali and Julie are anything but conventional – so they opted to tie the knot in Las Vegas, in the middle of one of Ali’s US tours. “We were going to have this real Hollywood wedding, but my schedule meant we had to cancel, so we ¬flew from Hawaii to Vegas and got married there, with no family, just us,” recalls Ali.
“It was the biggest, naffest wedding you could possibly think of. We drove down the aisle in a pink 1964 Cadillac with dry ice everywhere, to the Elvis hit I Can’t Help Falling in Love – which UB40 did a cover of. I didn’t choose it, they had no idea who I was! It was very rock and roll.”
“And when we got home the kids weren’t speaking to me because we got married without them,” adds Julie. “My dad was so upset he didn’t get to walk me down the aisle, because I’m the only girl in a houseful of boys.”
But even though the pair has finally settled down together, much of Ali’s life is still spent on the road, with the seasoned musician clocking up gigs in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador in just the past few weeks alone. And, of course, New Zealand.
